Cod Almighty | Diary

What we seem to have is a Common or Garden chant

8 February 2022

What a footballing weekend in my adopted home of Nottingham. We're lucky enough to live close enough to the City Ground and Trent Bridge to hear goals and wickets and just about close enough to hear Meadow Lane if it's particularly loud. Yes, Town fans, you could be heard. We're a very useful informal B&B and parking place for family going to the game. The last weekend was extra special as the first away game for five-year-old Oliver. May they all be like that!

Not Town really but we had to call out an emergency electrician on Sunday afternoon. Got chatting football and he was working because he wasn't a Forest fan so was covering for others. I thought it was probably wise not to mention we were Town fans until he had finished!

A thought I had during the Forest game was the singing at Town. Forest fans always sing their own version of Mull of Kintyre which I believe has not been adapted by others. I think it's probably rose-tinted glasses and all that but I seem to remember us having far more Town-specific songs in the "olden days" of the 70s and 80s. I'm probably mistaken, as you didn't see as much football at that time and maybe they were all borrowed from elsewhere. There were certainly a few offensive ones that made me uncomfortable. Now we mostly we insert "Grimsby" or "Town" into a generic football chant.

"Fish" was spine-tingling at Wembley and yes, we don't own it, but at least it's an original adaptation. The "Who's that team we call the Grimsby" is jolly but we need a new last line. Why mention "him" at all? He probably loves it. The last original chant I can think of is Tender/Omar Bogle and, again, thrilling when it's all of us singing. We need someone with a gift for words and a loud voice to start something off or at least a gift for words and the internet. It's clear the singing lifts the players; it lifts the fans too.

Kings Lynn and Tommy Widdrington. Formerly of Town, I have to say he's not high on the list of people I remember from the 90s but he seems a decent-enough human being in his interview before the game. He didn't play in the 1998 play-off final due to injury, which must have been gutting. Maybe other Town fans can dredge up more memories from that time. I welcome him back but we can do without a decent performance from his team. I'm sure he will understand. It would be good to start adding a few to our positive goal difference, but I'll happily just take the three points.

Right, you will have to excuse me now whilst I look at what delights might be available at Blundell Park tonight for my tea. UTM!